Mother's Early Life - Mother's Birth And Childhood

January 1983

Sheltered from dangerMother:

I would like to talk for a few moments on the background of my
birth. Many special dispensational events took place secretly and
internally in order to welcome the True Parents here on earth.

[Mother was born to a very special
spiritual family which had constantly been the instrument of God,
receiving revelations of the coming of the Lord and the New Day, and
of what would unfold once he came.]

It grieves me to think that those heavenly chosen instruments, who
were absolutely dedicated to God's revelations and whose one hope was
to some day meet the messiah, never saw that day. God had unfolded to
them His plan for sending His son here on earth, and under untold
hardships they prepared for the day of the Lord. But unfortunately,
they did not see that day, and one after another, they died. Yet
their mission continued on for three generations.

As the culmination of one spiritual group which had received
revelations and instructions to prepare for the second coming, I was
born. The final spiritualist to inherit the mission of unfolding
God's plan to send His son here on earth recognized me at the age of
six, and she said that I would be the bride of the Lord.

In those days the circumstances in Korea were so difficult that it
was almost impossible for anyone to maintain his faith in God and
Christ.

[We were at that time under the
Japanese occupation, and they denied all religions, particularly
Christianity. At that time, Mother was living in North Korea, which
was under especially rigid control.]

I was born in the province of South Pyongyang. We call this
Pyongyang Nam Do.

[This is one of the provinces of North
Korea now. It is the same province where Father was born, and
Mother's birthplace, Ahn Joo, was quite close to Father's own
birthplace in Jeong Joo. They were born on the same day, January 6 by
the lunar calendar.]

Mother's mother (Soon-Ae Hong – Dae Mo Nim):

My mother was a zealous Christian. The minister of my mother's
church named me Junni ("love and order") when I was
born. I became a Christian through my mother's guidance. I was not
satisfied with one church; I was looking for a higher spiritual level
and studied under various teachers.

True Mother was born January 6, 1943, at 4:30 p.m., when I was 30
years old. True Mother's father had received a revelation: if his
child was a boy, he would be the king of the universe; if the child
was a girl, she would be the queen of the universe.

In my lineage, seven consecutive generations had accumulated
merits of goodness. This was the third generation in which only one
daughter was born, although I have a brother who went abroad to study
in Japan. My parents tried to welcome Mr. Han as an adopted son, but
he could not accept that; so he left, even before True Mother was
born. After True Mother's birth, my parents wanted to continue to
care for her; therefore, under these circumstances, it was difficult
for me to reunite with my husband, and we separated.

In Korea, after childbirth, it was the custom to eat a bowl of
brown algae soup. While I was drinking the soup, Satan came to me and
threatened me, "If you let your daughter live, the world will be
in a serious condition, so you should kill her." I protested and
asked why he should want to destroy my daughter; I embraced her
tightly. Just then, my mother came and asked what I was doing, so I
told her about Satan appearing and trying to kill my baby. After a
week of wondering why Satan tried to take away my child, I was told
from the spiritual world, "The child is the daughter of God, and
you are to raise her as her nurse or babysitter."

When True Mother was six years old, we were captured by the
Communist Party. At this time, True Mother was a very strong and
lovely girl. Even when she was a child, she was always
straightforward, never telling lies. At that time in North Korea,
there were some apples, but the Communist Party would not sell them
to adults. However, if True Mother went to buy apples, they always
sold some to her.

I knew through revelations that the Lord of the Second Advent was
in the South, and I had a profound desire to meet the messiah. My
father and mother advised me to flee to the South with True Mother.
After spending eleven days in prison, we escaped at midnight and
headed towards the border between South and North Korea. When we
arrived, True Mother asked, "Is there no need to sing a song of
Kim Il Sung any more? May I sing a song of Korea?" I assured her
that she could, and she began to sing.

When we approached the border, the soldiers of the South shot at
us, but upon hearing True Mother's song, they stopped firing. When we
met them and told them that we had escaped from the North, they
welcomed us warmly and said, "You must have had a hard time
traveling with such a lively little child." They gave us the
money we needed to continue on our way to Seoul. I have realized
since then that God was guarding each step of our way to safety.

Since we knew that the Lord of the Second Advent was in the South,
we made the journey with the attitude of coming to meet True Father,
bowing three times in succession at many places on the way.

This was my first visit to Seoul, and in the crowded city I began
to search for my brother, who was a soldier in the army. Just then,
my brother's friend passed by and through him I was able to locate my
brother.

For several years, True Mother lived in my brother's home in Seoul
and attended primary school there. A short while later, the Korean
War broke out. When Seoul was threatened, the families of the
soldiers were put on trains to escape the war zone. On our way, just
after we passed through one village and crossed an iron bridge,
United Nations troops blew up the bridge behind us.

In a revelation, I was told that this child is the daughter of
God, so I brought her up to remain pure and unblemished. True Mother
became a beauty by the time she was ten or twelve. She was a good
student and quite popular, attracting the attention of many people.
Many satanic men would send her letters, so I took her out of the
national school after the sixth grade, and she and I went to live on
an island. In the mountains of that island, we lived as vegetarians
and led a life of prayer. Having been notified through revelation of
the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven in Korea, I brought her up
to remain pure and virgin until she met the messiah.

With great thoroughness I taught her to live a disciplined life,
just at the age when children most love to play. Sometimes she would
cry, but I continued to train her strictly. Heavenly Father must have
been sympathetic towards her, since He sent us back to live at my
brother's home. There True Mother graduated from primary school.

Since I was always looking into new religions, I finally met the
Unification Church. Reading Divine Principle, I thought that the man
who wrote this had to be more than an ordinary person and wondered
whether he was the one whom we had thought that I must devote myself
to a lifetime of service in the Unification Church, because of the
depth of its teachings. Therefore, my brother took care of True
Mother.

I had been serving True Father as a cook for about eight months
when I became ill and had to be admitted to the hospital. Many
spiritual experiences occurred around that time. One of the leaders
of the family had a vision in which True Father saluted me with a
royal crown and golden cloth. I also dreamed that all of the women of
the Unification Church lined up and filed into Father's room, all
wearing white ceremonial dresses decorated with pink flowers.

Looking behind me, I noticed women who were not members of the
Unification Church also standing in line. I then realized that God
had lost women, and for the past six thousand years had been looking
for one true woman. Then I saw True Mother walking directly to the
place where True Father sat. The heavens lit up and lightning flashed
across the sky from all directions; claps of thunder followed. Tens
of thousands of people looked on enviously. I pondered the meaning of
this vision, little realizing that my daughter would become the bride
of True Father.

Mrs. Mee Shik Choi:

Mrs. Hong (mother's mother) had a Christian background, originally
being a Presbyterian. North Korean Presbyterians are very famous and
very strong; many of them received revelations that the messiah was
coming very soon and that the New Jerusalem was Pyongyang, now the
capital of North Korea. They were waiting in prayers and tears for
the Second Coming.

Mother was born in Ahn Joo. Her mother was born there, and her
grandmother as well. Mother was the only daughter of her parents.
Moreover, in the two generations before her, only one daughter was
born. Father said that there were many conditions which played a role
in choosing the bride; one of these was a very simple lineage, in
this case, only one daughter in each generation. Also, she had to
have a certain last name. Father pointed to four or five names, and
the name Han was among them.

While Mother was growing up, Mrs. Hong said she never caused any
trouble; she was always an exemplary child and much beloved by her
grandmother, great grandmother and grandfather. Mother was such a
good child at school and at home. Mrs. Hong always spent her time at
church, so Mother was actually raised by her grandmother and her
uncle.

Father passed through much suffering and by overcoming paid
indemnity for us, finally bringing us this victorious foundation. In
contrast, Mother was somehow sheltered by God from the satanic world;
from her birth and during her childhood, she was protected by
Heavenly Father. Although many dangerous events happened around them,
when Mrs. Hong was with Mother, everything went smoothly. In those
days, Mrs. Hong never dreamed that someday her daughter would be the
True Mother of all mankind, but later she remembered all these
experiences.

In everything, Mother was protected by God, so she herself did not
have to endure physical suffering in the way Father had to. Our
Father treats Mother with so much love.

Father And Mother Meet

Selfless obedience and deep understandingMother:

I did not meet Father in North Korea, although we were not far
apart physically; I first met him in Seoul when I was 13. I had just
graduated from primary school and was a child about In Jin's age. I
had just finished sixth grade.

[Of course, at that time Mother had
absolutely no idea what was going to happen in 1960. She had just
joined the church with her own mother.]

The first time I met Father, he looked at me and asked, "What
is your name?" I answered, "My name is Hak Ja Han."
Then Father closed his eyes and meditated for a moment and then said,
"Oh God, You have given such a woman, Hak Ja Han, to this
country of Korea!" At that time it seemed strange that this
religious leader should have a special feeling or revelation
concerning my future.

Mother's mother:

As True Mother was brought up for a meeting with True Father,
after quite a while, she was able to obey him completely. When she
was a junior high school student I told her I would take her to meet
the Lord of the Second Advent. Upon meeting Father, she bowed very
deeply. "You have such a lovely daughter," Father
commented. "Does she study well?"

Mother:

When I was a high school student, I was living in Chun Chon, in
the northeastern part of South Korea; Father was staying at his
headquarters in the church at Chung Pa Dong in Seoul, so there was
quite a distance between us. I continued to attend church and go to
school, finishing middle school and then high school. In 1960, one
month prior to the day of the Blessing, which was March 16 by the
lunar calendar, a formal notification came to me, saying, "You
shall hereby prepare for a heavenly engagement and forthcoming
wedding."

[This first heavenly proposal was more
than a proposal; it was a heavenly mandate.]

When this instruction came from Father, I felt totally selfless. I
thought, "Who am I to decide whether this is good or bad? So far
my life has been governed directly by God. Whatever the will of God,
whatever His purpose or dispensation, I shall be His servant. I shall
obey in everything." That was my feeling.

Father knew me well. Particularly in those days, in that early
springtime, I just did not want to analyze the situation, preferring
to give myself totally for the heavenly will. At that time I had the
reputation of being rather on the quiet side. I enjoyed tranquility
and quietness, reading and music. I was known also as a rather
intellectual young lady. I was not too emotional, not too excitable.
In a way, I seemed slightly chilly and cold toward strangers who met
me. My basic character was not outgoing. I always withheld myself and
isolated myself from the outside world. I enjoyed my own world and
was almost scornful of the world of men.

[Everyone recognized her brilliant
academic ability, but at that time she lived almost like a nun. She
shied away from all activities with men, feeling it was somewhat
sinful and impure even to look at men. Like a beautiful flower in a
greenhouse, she absolutely isolated herself from the external
environment. Of course, we know now that this was heavenly
preparation to purify her to meet the Lord one day. However, she did
not know all these things.]

Mother's mother:

After their initial introduction, True Mother had no further
opportunity to meet Father until she was 17. Around that time, many
spiritual people were very alert, saying that the bride of Mr. Moon
had arrived. The engagement of March 1 was near at hand, but still no
bride had appeared. Father and heaven were impatient; the marriage
banquet was indispensable to the providence of God.

In a dream, I saw a bird descend from heaven and another bird just
like it ascend from the earth; in the sky they made a oneness. The
eye of the heavenly bird was Father and the earthly bird was Mother.
I said, "Heavenly Father, we are no longer orphans, for True
Parents have now arrived! We have become children of True Parents."
I danced and rejoiced, and from that moment the idea that she was my
daughter was taken away.

After that, new revelations came every day. The heavenly marriage
ceremony was already decided, but the bird was not yet announced;
only I knew who she was to be. So I bowed to True Mother, who was
staying in the lodgings of the high school, and she bowed in the
direction of Father. When she was 16 years old, Mother seemed like a
child, but when she became 17, she looked like an adult. When she
came to the church, the church brightened, and after the service,
Father gazed at Mother in front of many people. Then he asked me to
bring my daughter to see him.

There she faced Father, and for nine hours he sat and asked her
questions. I was very surprised to see True Mother answering so
boldly. Finally, Father said to her, "From this day on, I will
prepare a tutor for you." When Father's meals were brought,
people asked, "Who is that child?" Some people who were
filled with faith thought that the girl must be an important person.
For one month, until March 1, Mother lived with and served her tutor.

Father:

Before the heavenly wedding in 1960, for more than 15 years I had
been working single-mindedly for the mission. Yet everyone who
understood Divine Principle knew that I would marry some day. That
was apparent to everyone, and also many of our members received
revelation that they would be chosen for the position of bride of
heaven. God gave such revelations because in a certain respect
everyone takes the role of bride to the messiah. Therefore, God can
certainly say to anyone, "You shall be a candidate for the
heavenly bride." But through the Divine Principle we can also
see that this prophecy will culminate in one physical person, and
that is Mother.

Knowing the Divine Principle, I am sure you can understand that
when God sent His son in the position of True Parent, that means he
is truly the bridegroom of all mankind. Since the messiah is in a
position of bridegroom to all, God wanted to have more people adore
him than anyone else in history. In order to set that record, such
phenomena occurred. This was the background of the heavenly wedding.

When I suddenly chose Mother -- who was living in Chun Chon at
that time and therefore relatively unknown to church members -- to be
the heavenly bride, you can imagine the shock wave that went through
our church. There were many families who believed that the heavenly
bride might come out of their own home, because of the revelations
they had received. Not only one family, but many families firmly
believed that. Think what a shocking event it was to those families
to have Mother chosen. So many young women, fully qualified from a
worldly point of view, were certain that they would be hand-picked
for this honor. They had great beauty, university degrees, all kinds
of social graces and good family backgrounds. They thought, "The
messiah must come to me; someone like me shall become his bride."

Furthermore, in 1960, I was 40 years old, a most significant
providential age. In their thinking, the people concluded that the
heavenly bride should be somewhere around 35 -- maybe 34, or perhaps
even as young as 30. As a result, the people in that age group
thought they were the most blessed and that one of them would be
chosen.

In addition, they knew that the position of heavenly bride would
be a role of tremendous leadership. They did not consider that a
young woman in her teens or her twenties could fulfill that position.
Thinking of Mother's role in the church, they thought that the
candidate should be mature, somewhere between 30 and 40 years old.

When such great hopes and such high expectations were betrayed,
their reaction was equally deep. Their disappointment and
disenchantment were profound.5/3/77

When Mother was chosen to become my bride, she was 17 by American
calculations and 18 by Korean reckoning. Mother was like a little
girl and knew nothing about the world of men or about love. I was 40
at that time and planning for the universal mission, the worldwide
providence. Common sense would have required someone more qualified
than Mother, but I chose a young innocent girl.

I was destined to make many unusual matches in the future, so I
wanted one for myself too. Mother was the only daughter of her
mother, and she had no brother and no father at time. She was a
lonely person. I wanted to dramatize my cm n marriage, showing the
example for the future.3/26/78

Mrs. Won Pok Choi:

For providential reasons, Mother was supposed to be under the age
of 20 when she met Father. Father was to take a blossoming virgin
maid as Eve before the fall. He could have been blessed when he was
20, 30 or 40, but he had to wait so long in order to find a really
qualified and prepared young lady of divine choice. It happened in
such a way that it seemed like a flash.

Before the engagement took place, Father asked me to live in the
same house with Mother, near the church, so I could observe her
closely and so we could deeply touch each other heart to heart.
Father meant for me to talk with her about the Principle, especially
his search for a bride and what she should be like. But I did not
need to do so, because she was prepared. She was such a blossoming,
innocent young girl. Her way of observing things had great depth; she
would speak little, but whatever she believed in she would act out.

I would accompany her to Father's place to meet him. I shall never
forget the occasion when she met Father. She was in the traditional
Korean dress: a yellow chogori, with a red ribbon to match her red
skirt. All of a sudden, Father asked her to sing. Mother sang a folk
song with the following words, "When spring comes, mountains and
fields, valleys and river banks are decorated with azaleas. My mind,
too, is blooming like azaleas. When you come and pluck the flowers,
don't leave me alone; pluck mine too." It is very meaningful
when I think of that now. She was not embarrassed at that moment but
sang so nicely, so full of zeal and beauty. After that, Father took
her up to his room and asked several questions. Mother was not at all
shy, but articulately responded to the questions one after another.
Then Father wanted her to make a drawing, so she drew a landscape
with a figure.

Every day, Father would take her out to the mountainside. They
talked and talked, mainly about the core of Divine Principle.
Mother's understanding was so illuminated that she could answer every
question. It was a thrilling experience. In this way, Father nurtured
her, bringing her up to the stage when he thought the engagement
ceremony could be held.

Engagement And Blessing

Courage, strength and maturityFather:

When I was suffering in North Korea in the worst kind of prison, I
always maintained hope, because I knew that the wife God would give
me for eternity could come on the foundation that I was laying. My
hardship would make her way easier. By thinking this way, I always
had hope in the midst of any kind of suffering and hardship. In being
tortured by the satanic world, I felt I was paying indemnity for my
future wife, and at the same time paying indemnity for the nation in
which we would dwell as husband and wife.6/17/77

The True Parents' wedding in 1960 was not held at my own
initiative. God gave me revelation after revelation insisting, "The
time has come, my son. You shall prepare the altar to receive holy
matrimony, and I shall bless you."

Even Mother never considered herself to be Mother. She was just
living as a member of the church, when all of a sudden her name was
called to be married.5/1/77

Mother was very young when she was blessed, and she said that she
did not know very much. She did not know about the world of men at
all. With a prayerful mind focused just on doing God's will, she
accepted the challenge. Mother accepted everything in faith and
service to God and came to be the True Mother of the
universe.1/14/79

Mother's mother:

On March 1, 1960 (lunar calendar), the heavenly engagement
ceremony took place. On March 16 (lunar calendar), the heavenly
wedding ceremony was held twice, during the day and then at night. At
the time of the wedding ceremony, holy salt was created. With the
arrival of True Parents, we will now treat all things with
sanctification.

Mrs. Mee Shick Choi:

I was among the few people able to attend Father's engagement
ceremony. Father prayed and explained many kinds of meanings behind
the ceremony. At that time, Father told Mother to give some kind of
speech. Thinking of how young and inexperienced in church life she
was, I waited to see what she would say. When she spoke, she said
that she did not have any foundation like we did, but that she would
try her best. She said she needed our support, without which she
could not accomplish her big mission.

After I heard this, I started to cry, because I realized that
finally someone would take the responsibility for the historical
position of women. I sensed how difficult this would be. Someone was
going to undertake it and sacrifice her life. When I heard this young
girl Father had chosen speaking to our members and telling us, "I
will try my best, but I need your support," I really appreciated
her, because from then on her life would be a sacrifice for me and
all women. At that time I decided to try my best to really support
her. I felt I would try my best all the time.

The engagement ceremony was followed by a reception. As you know,
Father is very capable in every way. Mother, however, had just
graduated from high school and did not know much of anything. When
Father started to dance, she began dancing with her mother in a very
natural way, following the same pattern he was using.

I was surprised by her attitude, first at the engagement ceremony
and then at the marriage ceremony. We had been trained directly by
Father for five years, but we were not like her. We were not as
mature as she was. I was so surprised, because behind her young
appearance she was very strong. She had already been given so much by
God.

Mrs. Won Pok Choi:

The engagement ceremony took place, with Father and Mother dressed
in beautiful garments, surrounded by colorful decorations. It was
held in the upstairs of our small church headquarters, with some of
the oldest members in attendance.

The heavenly Blessing followed, on April 11, by the solar
calendar. The shabby old building which used to be a Japanese temple
[the old Chung Pa Dong church] became the greatest historical place,
because of Father's own Blessing. The paper screen doors between the
rooms were all removed, giving more space. That building will be kept
as a museum for all eternity.

Father and Mother marched towards a decorated stage, with all the
members in white robes standing by on both sides. Father walked as
though his path were strewn with flowers, bowing with his bride every
seven steps. We were all very awe-struck; we were happy, but at the
same time sad, because the place was so small for such a great event.
After making the last bow, they exchanged vows and rings; then Father
and Mother went up on the stage. Facing the audience, Father
announced his Blessing and offered a tearful, deeply touching prayer.

If he could not have located a bride in that year, when he was 40,
where again would he have found one? To find a person who met all the
heavenly qualifications was incredibly difficult.

Sources

Undated passages by Father and Mother
come from True Parents' wedding anniversary, 1977, when Father
unexpectedly asked Mother to give her testimony. Parenthetical
explanations were given by Col. Pak, who translated for Mother. The
date appearing at the end of other sections by Father refer to the
Master Speaks of that date.

Mother's mother gave one testimony at
Belvedere, in the mid 1970's. Her words are taken from an unofficial
transcript of that speech; the tape of that speech is apparently
unavailable, and the translation may not be completely accurate. The
remaining sections are from testimonies given by Mrs. Mee Shick Choi
at Barrytown in 1975 and by Mrs. Won Pok Choi at Belvedere in 1976.